Washington Commissioner Hosts Summit on Climate Change

Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler will convene a summit on the impacts of climate change on the insurance industry and insurance consumers on Thursday, June 15 in Seattle.

“Insurance is a $24 billion industry in Washington,” Kreidler said. “It provides economic recovery from weather-related catastrophic events, financial security for consumers and businesses, and stability for community and economic development. As the climate continues to change, insurers will face increased challenges. How they respond to these challenges may threaten the affordability and availability of insurance coverage for consumers. The purpose of the summit is to help determine how the state of Washington and the insurance companies that do business here should respond to these challenges.”

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, King County Executive Ron Sims and Kathleen Drew, Executive Policy Advisor for Gov. Gregoire, will present their perspectives and current initiatives regarding climate change.

The following environmental, business and insurance representatives also will share their organization’s climate change initiatives during the summit and explain why this growing issue is important to their business objectives:

*Dr. Phil Mote, a scientist from the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group
*Alan Durning, Executive Director of the Sightline Institute
*Ben Packard, Director of Environmental Affairs, Starbucks
*Jim Swegle, Vice President Safeco personal lines property
*A representative from Risk Management Solutions

The summit is being paid for by a grant from the Bullitt Foundation through the Climate Group. The summit will be held from 1-5 p.m. on Thursday, June 15, 2006, at the Grand Hyatt, Anderson Amphitheater, 721 Pine Street, Seattle.